Rushing out of a store, I encountered an elderly man with a cane taking baby steps toward the doorway.  Unable to pass him, I slowed down to his pace as he made his way from the warm interior to the cold wind outside.  Seems I am always rushing to meet the expectations of the day, both self-imposed and required.  It was refreshing to slow down and walk in someone else's pace.  We both accomplished our assigned tasks, but I can't help but wonder if he experienced them more fully, step by slow step.

4" x 7.25 Mechanical pencil on drawing paper

Six months.  Not an eternity between posts, but maybe a bit long.  So I'm trying something different this time.  I'm participating in the 2013 Creative Everyday challenge (if I did it correctly, the site link should be in the side bar).  Since it's now the 8th and this is my first posting . . . we'll just have to see how it goes.  This is my first serious attempt at drawing a face.  A female rendention of the Roman god Janus, protector of gates and doorways, looking into the past and future.  Fitting for this month.  Drawn with mechanical pencil and color pencils on Strathmore drawing paper - 4" x 4".  Ty Sterling.

Growing up in the mountains of New Mexico, we didn't have formal flower beds, just the occasional smattering of wild flowers in the spring and fall.  When I moved into my own home, I tried my hand at gardening - both flowers and veggies - and discovered that neither of my thumbs are green.  After several failed attempts, I left the outdoors alone to thrive on it's own.  A few years ago, a friend introduced me to water gardens.  It's amazing what will grow in a big tub of water without my assistance.  With my confidence rebuilt, I have ventured back into gardening.  I've planted perennials like roses, clematis, zebra grass, lantanas.  If it can survive without any help from me, then it's welcome in my garden.  Here's some of my favorites.

Created with Rose Garden by Mommy Made This

Back again with something a little different.  I hope you were able to download the free kit, Mom's Little Superhero, from Colleen's http://mommadethis.blogspot.com/ and Lori's  http://scrappinwithlori.blogspot.ca/ blogs this week.  Using their fun kit, I created this freebie for you.  Hope you like it.

Download

Until the next step in the journey ~

I've been doing some layouts for Colleen of Mommy Made This.  She and Lori of Scrappin With Lori are releasing a new kit, Mom's Little Superhero, as a free download each day this week on their blogs.  The kit is really easy to use with lots of fun elements and papers for kids pictures.  Here's a layout I created showing two of my granddaughters getting the best of our showroom mannequins.

And here's a preview of the entire kit that will be offered on Colleen's http://mommadethis.blogspot.com/ and Lori's http://scrappinwithlori.blogspot.ca/ blogs.  Stop by their blogs each day to pick up the entire kit.

Until the next step in the journey ~

Whacky Robins

In the family room, we have 5" tall windows that sit above the ground about 10".  In the spring, it's nice to have these open to the refreshing breeze.  This year, however, they have become ground zero for robins.  For several hours during the day, robins dive bomb the windows, often grabbing the screens for support.  Having never witnessed this before, it was like living through Hitchcock's bird scenes.  After watching closely one day, we realized the robins were feeding off the baby spiders hatching in the moulding around the screens.  Thanks to the robins voracious appetites, our family room will be spider-free this year.

Trusting Instincts

Creating digital scrapbook pages is my newest obsession.  The creation part isn't new, since I've been doing them for two years, but the obsession part is new.  I spend many hours at the computer researching kits, looking through photographs, learning how to use Photoshop, reading tutorials on techniques, and browsing through galleries of beautifully designed layouts by talented people.  The more I learn about design, techniques, and personal style, the more frustrated I get with my results.  Looking through earlier layouts, I actually like them better.  It's like I know instinctively when a page looks good, but the more I try to plan a page to look good, the worse it becomes.  Another lesson in trusting my instincts and learning to appreciate what I can do, not what I think I should do.  Here's one of my newest - and the kit I used "Snowfall" by Gettin' Scrappy with Britt.